Fashion In History – Evening Dress

House of Paquin

1905-07

Produced several years prior to the 1908 Hellenic designs of Paul Poiret, the raised waist and decorative references to Greek antiquity indicate this classical aesthetic and change of silhouette were in the air from 1905 on. As the leading house of couture druing the Belle Epoque, Paquin’s promotion of this line would have been widely known to the public. The dress also incorporates signature decorative techniques such as velvet piping outlining peach satin ribbon at neckline and waist and the contrasting tones and reflections of silver, satin and velvet. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.